The School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation at Roger Williams University is hosting the conference Preservation Education: Sharing Best Practices and Finding Common Ground in Bristol, Rhode Island (USA), September 8 to 9, 2012. This conference is designed to bring higher education leaders in historic environment programs together from across the globe to present their research and observations that will produce better historic environment specialists and further define educators’ roles and responsibilities in the greater professional and public arena. The goal of the conference is to share best practices, current research, and the metrics of academic and professional activities in the field that can help to inform higher education institutions and organizations that provide curriculum guidance and pedagogical practices to historic environment programs.

Abstracts are invited for paper presentations and discussion panel proposals from international higher education leaders. While the conference will be hosted in the United States, educators from historic environment programs from other countries are encouraged to submit proposals and attend. Proposals from advanced graduate students conducting thesis/dissertation research on historic preservation/heritage conservation pedagogy will also be considered. Topics can address any pedagogical aspects of historic environment degree/certificate programs in higher (tertiary) education, including:

What are the best practices in experiential and active learning; which techniques are demonstrated to be more effective?

What are essential learning objectives in undergraduate and graduate programs and how can these objectives be matched to course requirements?

How can historic environment programs benefit liberal arts colleges and their curricula?

How can learning outcomes be measured/assessed?

What should be the essential differences between undergraduate and graduate HP programs?

What should be the essential differences between associates/certificate programs in community colleges and bachelor’s programs?

What should be the learning outcomes of certificate programs and how should they be different from degree programs

What is the most effective way to differentiate undergraduate and graduate level historic environment courses and curricula in the same institution?

What do employers expect from graduates of each type of degree or certificate program?

What kinds of materials/tests should programs consider in students’ application materials? Which Materials are better predictors of high achieving students?

To what extent should curricula be driven by employer needs while balancing the role that universities have in advancing the field?

What should students be taught in regard to research methods?

Is there a role for the social sciences?

What other allied disciplines are relevant and what metrics and methods do they demand?

Should programs have a thesis or a project as the cumulative end goal?

What is the role of a thesis in a master’s program vs. a project?

What are the desirable outcomes of the process?

How can the pedagogical methods, professional content and applied practices be made more relevant to meeting the needs and demands of other programs and fields in academic institutions?

What is the role of graduates (now practicing as professionals in the fields) in establishing and formatively assessing outcomes?

What models exist in other fields/professions and how might they help advance our efforts?

What case studies exemplify best practices of engaged scholarship and service learning?

With respect to “action research,” what learning and research skills need to be developed and demonstrated?

Is there an untapped potential in collaboration/crossover with “hands‐on” vocational training programs in conservation with bachelor’s/master’s programs?